Who is misunderstanding fundamentally?

What lies before our nation is a choice of limited means. Neither candidate will bring forth the true change in our system which is sorely needed. Kerry, the supposed liberal candidate, will not even speak of what caused terrorism and make the neccessary changes to policy if elected. I believe the sad truth of our Republic is that Mr. Bush will be reelected, and Empire will contiue, as it has since WWII. Our short period of hyperpower will be over soon, and our own actions have and will continue to quicken the pace of our demise. This process could have been avoided with a few changes in policy after the cold war was over, but we, in our prideful excess, dreaming that AMERICA was the sole reason for the Soviet downfall, chose unwisely. Instead of ushering the world into a new, more peaceful world order, we began the militarization of the middle east and proceded to sew the seeds of our fate. My only hope is that we fall slow and softly, for if america has a hard landing, the consequences for the world could be devastating. America stops buying? We can only pray the current financial balance beam we now stand upon does not have a 7.0 eartquake shake its foundation. I digress.
My belief is that only with wide ranging reform throughout the spectrum of our democracy can we stem the tide of what is to come. The inablity to adjust policies in the face of a new world order was a core component in the fall of many empires before ours. We sprint faster towards critical mass every day, but i believe and hope that we can change.